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This Southwest Key Programs facility is near 14th Street and Thomas Road in Phoenix. The government contractor, which also operates detention centers in California and Texas, said it was working to help reunite immigrant children separated from their parents.(Photo: Rob Schumacher/The Republic)

PHOENIX – A 6-year-old girl who was separated from her mother under the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" border policy was reportedly sexually abused by another child at a facility for migrant children run by Southwest Key, according to a form provided by the child's family.

The child, without any parental permission, also was forced to sign a document saying she would stay away from anyone associated with the abuse, according to a migrant advocate.

Jeff Eller, a spokesman for Southwest Key, told The Arizona Republic Friday that officials in charge of caring for the child and handling the case made a mistake labeling the incident as "sexual abuse,” when it should have been characterized as “inappropriate behavior.”

Southwest Key, a Texas-based nonprofit, houses more than 1,500 migrant children in Arizona, California and Texas under a $458 million contract with the federal Unaccompanied Alien Children Program. Eight of those facilities are in Arizona.

Employees at two Arizona Southwest Key facilities have been accused of inappropriate contact with minors on at least two occasions since 2015, including an incident that led to a conviction for sexual abuse, police records show.

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Southwest Key facilities, which already were set up to house children who crossed the border illegally without a parent, were a quick fix for dealing with the flow of children forcibly separated from their parents under the "zero tolerance" policy.

Mark Lane, a family spokesman who runs Poppa's House, an organization that supports migrants, said Southwest Key is covering its tracks about the abuse.

“It happened, and it happened twice,” Lane said of the abuse. “That’s a nice way to backtrack. They got to put lipstick on it, that’s what spokespeople and publicists do.”

Lane said the child was forced to sign a form that told her she had to stay away from her attacker.

"For a 6-year-old to be taken into a counseling session like that and to be held responsible and to be told to sign a document like that,” he said. “People can’t believe they had a 6-year-old girl sign that she was responsible for making sure she didn’t get molested again."

The form says, "I confirm that the safety plan was reviewed with me and I understand that it is my responsibility to follow the safety plan."

Document on the reported abuse.(Photo: Courtesy of family spokesman Mark Lane)

The form is signed by an odd-shaped "D" in what appears to be a child's handwriting. After the signature, in parentheses, written in an adult's handwriting, it says: "tender age.''

The form provided to The Republic is stamped with a Southwest Key Programs emblem. It is titled: "PREA Safety Plan." Under the type of incident, written in black ink, are two words: "Sexual Abuse."

PREA stands for “Prison Rape Elimination Act,'' a reference to a federal law.

A man holds a sign over the fence of the Southwest Key facility in Glendale during a protest on Sunday, June 24, 2018.(Photo: BrieAnna J. Frank)

Under a "synopsis of the incident," the allegations are repeated with more detail.

"The Department of Y.C.W. reported that the client has presented sexually inappropriate behavior since about a week."

Two forms of multiple possible interventions are marked with a large X.

After the alleged assault, Lane said, the girl's father, who is not releasing his name to protect his daughter and wife, was called by Southwest Key Director Silvia Zavala.

Zavala, he said, told the father details of what had happened to his daughter.

"They also said there were other girls involved and they were going to change protocols. It won't happen again," Lane said.

Then, the father got another call from a Southwest Key employee.

"They called 10 days later to say it happened again, with the same boy," Lane said. "He'd already been told that his daughter had been fondled once, now it happened again, that's when he went into high gear."

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Rep. Raúl Grijalva, after a tour of a shelter for migrant kids on July 6, 2018, says the children are being cared for but ultimately it left him sad.
Arizona Republic

In a Southwest Key statement addressing the allegations, officials said there was an addendum to the original report. The addendum states the 6-year-old girl said the boy didn’t touch her and this was not sexual abuse.

The original report and the addendum were sent to federal agencies and to the state, according to the statement.

Eller did not immediately return a follow-up call for clarification on whether he was referring to both allegations of abuse being mistakenly labeled or to confirm whether there was a second abuse incident.

The father was sent a packet to fill out and was told that officials were going to release his daughter to him.

Lane said that shortly after the second alleged assault and receiving forms to obtain custody of his daughter, the father was informed that they would no longer release his daughter to him.

That, Lane says, is when the desperate father reached out to Families Belong Together, a grassroots organization that has been fundraising to help parents reunite with their children. After a series of calls to migrant-rights advocates, the father was put in touch with Lane and California-based attorney Franciso Aldana.

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Congressman Raul Grijalva speaks with reporters after his tour of the Southwest Key immigrant shelter on July 6, 2018, in Tucson. The shelter houses both unaccompanied immigrant children and immigrant children that have been forcefully separated from their families. Mike Christy/Arizona Daily Sta, ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Congressman Raul Grijalva speaks with reporters after his tour of the Southwest Key immigrant shelter on July 6, 2018, in Tucson. The shelter houses both unaccompanied immigrant children and immigrant children that have been forcefully separated from their families. Mike Christy/Arizona Daily Sta, ARIZONA DAILY STAR

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They received word about a week ago, that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials planned to reunite the child with her mother in Texas. The child was transferred to an ICE facility, Lane said, and held with her mother overnight.

They were released together on July 18. The mother has a pending asylum case. She and her daughter have been reunited with the girl's father.

Lane said the attorney is handling the immigration case and looking into a civil suit. He said he does not know if Southwest Key officials reported the abuse to police and the parents have not done so yet either.

Eller released a statement late Friday that said staff at the shelter talked to the children involved, assigned one-on-one supervision of the alleged offender and learned that the alleged victim said she was never touched. In addition, video footage from the facility did not provide any evidence of a child being sexually abused, he said.

Eller told The Republicthe shelter erred in labeling its initial report as “sexual abuse,” when it should have been characterized as “inappropriate behavior.”

Eller said another child at the shelter told staff that a 5-year-old boy had touched a 6-year-old girl, triggering the initial June 4 report. The report is made on a form required by the Prison Rape Elimination Act. In its statement, Southwest Key said that form is required to be filled out for a broad range of incidents.

The 5-year-old had been sexually acting out, Eller said. When asked if that behavior involved another child, he said he did not know.

Southwest Key said, in addition to state officials, it notified the federal offices involved in shelter oversight — namely the Office of Refugee Resettlement, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and HHS’ inspector general.

A child watches Ferdinand in Spanish on a television in a processing center of a U.S. Customs border and protection facility in Tuscon on June 28, 2018, during a visit by first lady Melania Trump. Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press

Two boys watch as first lady Melania Trump visits their short-term holding facility for migrant children and adults at the Tucson Sector office of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection on June 28, 2018, in Tucson. Rob Schumacher/The Republic

A young man waits as the first lady Melania Trump visits their short term holding facility for migrant children and adults at Tucson Sector office of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection on June 28, 2018, in Tucson. Rob Schumacher/The Republic

First lady Melania Trump visits a short term holding facility for migrant children and adults at Tucson Sector office of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection on June 28, 2018, in Tucson. Children’s shoe laces are removed in the holding area. Rob Schumacher/The Republic

First lady Melania Trump visits a short term holding facility for migrant children and adults at Tucson Sector office of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection on June 28, 2018, in Tucson. Rob Schumacher/The Republic

First lady Melania Trump participates in a discussion on border security at Tucson Sectoroffice of the U.S. Customs and BorderProtection on Thursday, June 28, 2018, in Tucson. Rob Schumacher/The Republic

First lady Melania Trump participates in a discussion on border security at Tucson Sector office of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Thursday, June 28, 2018, in Tucson. Rob Schumacher/The Republic

First lady Melania Trump looks at photos of an abandoned 6-year-old Costa Rican boy found in the desert recently during a visit to the Tucson Sector office of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection on June 28, 2018, in Tucson. Rob Schumacher/The Republic

First lady Melania Trump greets U.S. Marshal David Gonzales during a visit to the Tucson Sector office of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection on June 28, 2018, in Tucson. Rob Schumacher/The Republic

First lady Melania Trump visits a short term holding facility for migrant children and adults at Tucson Sectoroffice of the U.S. Customs and BorderProtection on Thursday, June 28, 2018, in Tucson. Rob Schumacher/The Republic

At Tucson sector of Border Patrol, first lady Melania Trump greets officials, U.S. Marshal David Gonzalez. She thanked them for all the hard work they do. She says she wants to help children. Yvonne Wingett Sanchez/The Republic

First lady Melania Trump boards an airplane at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., on June 28, 2018. The first lady is traveling to Arizona to view additional immigration facilities. Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press

First lady Melania Trump is greeted as she boards an airplane at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., on June 28, 2018. The first lady is traveling to Arizona view additional immigration facilities. Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press

First lady Melania Trump boards an airplane at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., on June 28, 2018. The first lady is traveling to view additional immigration facilities in Arizona. Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press

First lady Melania Trump arrives on the tarmac to board an airplane at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., on June 28, 2018. The first lady is traveling to Arizona to view additional immigration facilities. Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press

First lady Melania Trump arrives on the tarmac to board an airplane at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., on June 28, 2018. The first lady is traveling to Arizona to view additional immigration facilities. Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press

First lady Melania Trump was expected to make a second trip to the Mexican border this week to visit facilities holding immigrant families suspected of illegally crossing into the United States. Pool, Olivier Douliery